B 
1 S9438a 


V       1 


~Uicc  Subbittlj-Bncrln 

3n  iUfinoriain. 


1904 
State   reoistkr    Prk- 

SHK  I  Vi.KIK.I.Il.    ILL. 


in  'M r nun' in nu 


Alice  Sudduth-Byerly,  wife  of  Rev.  A.  C.  Byerly, 
Presiding  Elder  of  the  Springfield  District,  Illinois 
Conference,  died  very  suddenly  Feb.  1!>.  L904,  at 
Oitronelle,  Alabama,  whither  she  bad  gone  aboul 
two  weeks  before  for  rest  and  recuperation.  Her 
husband  arrived  home  with  the  body  Sunday  after- 
noon, Feb.  21.  The  casket  was  placed  in  the  front 
parlor  under  a  canopy  of  white  lace  work,  and  was 
almost  immediately  embowered  in  flowers  which 
began  to  arrive  from  sympathizing  friends-  Among 
the  many  offerings  were  the  following: 

From  the  Official  Hoard  of  Firsi  Church,  a 
large  double  bouquet  of  red  carnations;  Mrs.  Judge 
Creighton,  bouquet  of  white  carnations;  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Bullard  and  family,  bouquet  narcissi;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
A.  I>.  Oadwallader  and  daughter  Imogen,  of  Lin- 
coln, bunch  red  carnations;  Mr.  and  Mis.  R.  I.. 
Leaverton,  bouquel  rod  carnations;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
S.  K.  Prather,  wreath  pink  carnations;  Mrs.  Mc- 
Lennan, bouquel  lilies;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles 
Ralph,  bouquel  white  carnations  and  pink  poses; 
Mrs.  Robert  Young,  potted  tern;  local  \Y.  C.  T.  l\, 
loose  bouquet  while  and  pink  carnations  and  \r^\ 
roses;    Wilkin   Chapter,    Epworth    League,   of   Lin- 


coin,   massive   Greek   cross,    white   roses,   red   and 
white  carnations. 

Mondav  forenoon,  Feb.  22,  an  opportunity  was 
afforded  friends  to  look  upon  the  faro  of  tin-  de- 
parted at  the  home,  and  a  constant  stream  of  sin- 
cere  mourners  passed  in  and  nut  up  to  the  hour 
of  the  funeral.  At  i'  o'clock  the  procession  left 
the  home  for  First  Church,  where  the  service  was 
to  be  held,  and  where  a  large  congregation  had 
assembled.  The  pall-bearers  were  six  ministers 
oi  Springfield  District.  They  were  Rev.  II.  11. 
Montgomery,  Rev.  -I.  A.  Lucas.  Rev.  W.  A.  Boyd, 
Rev.  A.  C.  Adams.  Rev.  W.  D.  Best  and  Rev.'  J. 
M.  Bldredge. 

Besides  these,  about  twenty  preachers  from  the 

district  were  in  attendance. 

The  order  of  service  at   the  church   was  as   fid 
lows: 

Hymn.  "Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul.*'  rendered  by 
a  quartette. 

Scripture  lesson,  Rev.   \Y.  D.   Best. 

Prayer,  Rev.  J.  A.  Lucas. 

Hymn.  "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee."  quartette. 

Address  by  Dr.  \V.  X.  McElroy,  pastor  of  Kum 
ha-  ( *hurch. 

Address  by  Dr.  A.  P.  Stover,  of  First  Church, 
Lincoln. 

Address  by  Dr.  W.  A.  Smith,  of  First  Church, 
Champaign. 

Hymn.  "Rock  of  Ages,"  quartette. 

Memoir,  road  by  the  pastor,  Dr.  X.  G.  Lyons. 

Benediction. 


ADDRESS  Or  REV.  W.  N.  MCELROY. 

We  mingle  our  tears  today  with  the  tears  of 
our  sorely  bereaved  brother  and  his  family.  We 
weep  with  them.  Our  sympathy  goes  out  to  them, 
and  to  the  far  distant  brother  and  sister.  But, 
we  mourn  not  for  the  departed.  For  her  there  is 
no  occasion  to  weep. 

She  has  entered  into  what  St.  Paul  calls 
"gain.''  He  said,  "For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  but  to 
die  is  gain."  We  know  for  her  it  is  "gain." 
Though  to  live,  as  she  did,  for  Christ,  has  some- 
thing in  it  of  what  Heaven  is  to  be,  yet  beyond, 
to  such  as  she,  there  is  a  gain  in  dying.  The 
word  declares  that  "those  who  die  in  the  Lord  are 
'blessed.1  "  "They  rest  from  their  labors."  "Their 
works  follow  them."  Jesus  said  to  His  sorrow- 
ing disciples,  "In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions."  (Home  places,  for  that  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word.)  "If  it  were  not  so  I  would  have 
told  you." 

"I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you,  and  if  I  go 
and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and 
receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where  I  am,  there 
ye  may  he  also."  To  our  departed  sister,  this 
word  has  been  kepi  and  she  is  with  the  Lord.  I 
doubt  not,  being  away  from  home,  she  looked  for- 
ward day  by  day  to  the  homecoming,  and  antici- 
pated its  joyful  reunions.  But  it  was  not  to  be. 
Instead   of   that,   she   went    to    the    heavenly    home, 


and  is  there  today  in  one  of  those  "home  places' 
which  -Jesus  had  prepared  for  her.  In  one  sens-' 
it  might  be  said  of  her.  being  but  in  middle  life, 
"Her  sun  wont  down  while  it  was  yet  noon."  And 
vet  it  did  not  go  down.  It  was  only  eclipsed 
death  passed  across  its  disk  and  hid  it  from  our 
sight,  hut  -'t  shines  on.  mingling  its  light  with  the 
blaze  of  the  eternal  glory.  Her  life,  devoted  to 
helping  others,  was  like  a  beautiful  song.  On 
this  side  its  melody  is  hushed  to  our  ears,  but  be- 
yond our  hearing  its  notes  swell  in  sweeter  mel- 
ody and  diviner  harmony.  Yet  we  do.  like  distant 
strains  of  sweet  music,  catch  its  echoes  as  it  was 
sung  in  our  midst.  Like  the  sound  waves,  ii 
trembles  on;  like  the  light  of  the  dead  star,  it 
streams  on;  like  the  fragrance  of  flowers,  it  lin 
gers  Inn--  after  their  removal. 

So  wo  weep  not  for  her,  rather  like  the  mother 
of  the  Wesleys,  who  requested  of  her  children 
when  she  was  dying,  "We  sine,  a  hymn  of  praise 
to  (bid.  now  that  she  is  gone."  You  know  with 
those  long,  dreary,  winter  months,  with  their 
storm  ami  cloud  and  cold,  how  we  long  for  the 
spring  time  with  the  bright  sunshine,  springing 
grass,  opening  buds,  blossoms  in  the  orchards,  and 
singing  of  birds.  So  it  is  with  this  world  and 
Heaven.  She  has  gone  to  the  spring  land,  where 
there  are  no  clouds  or  storms,  or  chilling  blasts, 
"where  the  inhabitants  never  say  I  am  sick;" 
where  "they  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any 
more,  and  whore  the  sun  shall  no  more  light  upon 
them,    nor   any    heat,    where    the    Lamb    shall    lead 

8 


them  by  fountains  of  living  water,  and  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes/* 

Above  the  murky  clouds  which  mantle  the 
skies,  the  sun  is  always  shining.  It  is  lighl  there. 
So  it  is  here  today.  Those  bereaved  ones  are  un- 
der 1he  cloud,  bat  she  is  in  the  light,  crowned,  and 
"washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  My  ac- 
quaintance with  Sister  Byerly  was  not  long  nor 
intimate,  yet  1  was  impressed  with  her  womanly 
and  Christian  character.  I  had  met  her  years  ago, 
also  her  parents  and  other  relatives.  She  was 
born  and  reared  in  a  cultivated  Christian  home. 
I  lei-  father  was  a  successful  and  honored  physi- 
cian, her  mother  a  refined  and  talented  Christian 
lady,  a  sister  of  Rev.  \Y.  H.  H.  Moore,  long  a  lead- 
ing minister  of  our  Conference. 

Her  parents  were  Presbyterians.  She  was 
broughl  up  in  that  faith  and  denomination,  and 
was  religious  from  her  childhood.  Though  she 
loved  her  church,  she  was  broad  and  catholic 
enough  to  recognize  and  love  all  Christian  people, 
and  after  her  marriage  united  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  was  as  much  at  home  as  in 
the  church  in  which  she  had  been  reared. 

She  was  an  educated  and  refined  woman.  She 
studied  in  the  common  schools,  the  State  Normal 
University,  and  Mills  College  at  Oakland,  Gal.,  and 
was.  in  addition,  a  life  long  student,  pursuing  sev 
era!  outside  courses  of  study.  Many  years  of  her 
life  were  spent  in  <  California,  where  her  parents  died. 
Her  life  and  character  seemed  to  have  absorbed 
some   of   the   lighl    of   those   cloudless    skies,    and 


the  fragrance  of  that  flowery  land.  She  had  a 
rare  faculty  of  making  friends. 

She  drew  people  to  her.  This  was  illustrated 
during  her  short  stay  in  the  South,  where  she  was 
unexpectedly  called  away,  so  that  while  dying 
among  strangers,  loving  hands  ministered  to  her 
wants. 

Intellectual  in  her  tastes,  reared  in  tenderness, 
yet  constrained  by  love,  she  spent  her  life  largely 
in  drying  the  tears,  soothing  the  sorrows,  and  lend- 
ing a  helping  hand  to  those  in  need. 

The  flowers  she  carried  to  the  sick  were  not 
more  fragrant  than  her  own  spotless  character  and 
loving  life.  But  she  is  gone  from  us.  another  evi- 
dence of  our  own  mortality.  But  shall  we  only 
lament? 

"Is  not  e'en  death  a  gain  to  those 
Whose   lives   to   Christ   were   given? 
Gladly  on   earth   their   eyes   they   close 
To  open  them  in  Heaven." 

When,  or  where  we  die,  matters  not.  A  chariot 
look  Elijah  to  Heaven,  and  a  crown  of  life  awaited 
the  martyred  Paul.  Convoys  of  angels  come  to 
bear  away  the  spirits  of  the  saints.  They  were 
doubtless  in  Citronelle  to  receive  the  spirit  of  our 
departed  sister.  We  separate  here,  hut  we  shall 
meet  yonder.  The  parting  is  painful,  the  meeting 
will  be  glorious.  Blessed  hope!  Glorious  expec- 
lat  ion! 

'■<  >h,   how  sweet  it  will   be   in   that   beautiful  land, 

So  free  from   all   sorrow   and   pain, 
With  songs  on  our  lips,  and  with  harps  in  our  hands, 

To   meet  one   another  again." 


ADDRESS  OP  1)1?.  A.  P.  STOVER. 

Life  Filled  with  Deeds  of  Goodni  >s  and  Mercy. 

The  chord  of  grief  and  sorrow,  touched  by  the 
liaiid  of  Death  in  the  hearl  of  our  brother,  resound 
oil  beyond  the  city  of  Springfield  and  the  Spring- 
field District,  and  on  last  Saturday  night  reached 
the  city  of  Lincoln,  causing  both  in  the  church  and 
community  universal  expressions  of  surprise  and 
sympathetic  appreciation,  and  it  was  fell  to  be 
due  Dr.  Byerly,  a  former  pastor,  that  a  committee 
bearing  tin*  love  of  the  church  should  be,  as  they 
are,  present  at  this  service. 

Often  in  the  springtime  when  the  buds  are  burst- 
ing, as  we  walk  through  the  woodland  or  meadow, 
our  senses  are  greeted  by  some  special  fragrance 
or  by  the  charming  note  of  some  unseen  songster, 
and  our  steps  are  halted  in  a  desire  to  understand 
the  source  of  this  fragrance,  and  to  cultivate  the 
acquaintance  of  the  singer,  so  when  in  the  order 
of  my  itinerancy.  I  came  to  Lincoln.  I  found  there 
the  fragrance  of  the  spirit  and  the  inspiration  of 
the  presence  of  her  who  lies  so  silent  in  this  casket 
with  the  love-light  gone  from  her  eyes,  the1  lips 
closed  to  accustomed  messages  of  kindness.  Sister 
Byerly  was  known  in  Lincoln,  first,  for  her  su- 
preme unselfish  devotion  to  the  life-work  of  her 
husband.  To  come,  as  did  she,  out  of  the  church 
home  of  another  denomination  ami  take  her  place 
beside  her  husband  as  a  Methodist  minister's  wife. 

11 


was  .1  very  difficult  task  indeed.  Yet  the  unfa- 
miliar altar,  because  of  souls  led  to  Christ,  be- 
came to  hei  a  sacred  spot,  and  The  class  meeting, 
because  of  The  glowing  testimonies,  a  place  of  pre- 
cious memories,  the  Epwortb  League  services  an 
opportunity  To  "lift  up"  To  higher  table  lands  the 
youth  of  The  church.  As  a  result,  we  here  found 
;i  church  thoroughly  organized  and  filled  with  the 
Divine  (Spirit,  In  all  This  work  SisTer  Byerly  was 
both  a  helpmeet  and  a  helpmate;  recognizing  tIuit 
fact,  we  have  no  power  To  measure  The  loss  and 
grief  ThaT  have  come  To  The  heart  of  our  brother  To- 
day: as  he  is  called  To  look  into  The  face  of  his  dead 
wife,  there  are  chords  of  love  and  gratitude  touch- 
ed Today  ThaT  have  never  vibrated  before.  And 
These  excellent  qualities  that  so  enriched  her  bus- 
band  were  also  freely  given  To  The  Lincoln  church — ■ 
her  gracious  womanliness,  her  serene  Christian 
faith,  her  invincible  sweetness,  The  radiation  of 
her  spiriT  of  purity,  The  constant  appeal  To  The 
best  qualities  of  her  soul;  These  were  her  ,uifts  To 
The  Lincoln  church,  which  caused  her  To  be  so  be- 
loved by  all. 

Second,  SisTer  Byerly  was  known  and  beloved 
in  Lincoln  because  of  her  deeds  of  goodness  and 
mercy.  In  my  pastoral  work  recently  a  widow 
told  me  how.  in  her  great  weariness  from  long 
watching  by  The  bedside  id  her  sick  ones.  SisTer 
Byerly  came  wit  h  comfort  in  her  presence,  and  kind- 
ness on  her  lips,  and  helpfulness;  how  she  took 
away  to  the  parsonage  and  kept  all  The  day  the 
liTTle  child   ThaT    the   over-wrought   mother   might 

12 


have  needed  rest,  and  to  prepare  her  for  her  toil. 
Sn  another  place  it  was  Sister  Byerly  who  brought 
ou1  of  their  despair  and  isolation  two  women. 
mother  and  daughter,  who,  overwhelmed  by  their 
sorrows,  had  buried  themselves  from  society;  it 
was  Sister  Byerly  who  won  them  back  to  associa- 
tions sunny  and  congenial,  who  wiped  away  their 
tears  and  put  a  new  song  in  their  months.  These 
are  only  samples  of  her  contributions  of  helpful- 
ness and  love.  There  is  a  legend  that  comes  to  my 
mind,  told  of  our  Master.  It  is  said  that  on  the 
great  festal  days  lie  was  accustomed  to  go 
through  the  streets  with  His  arms  tilled  with  lilies, 
saying  gently,  as  He  offered  them  with  unspeakable 
grace:  "Lilies,  lilies,  lilies  of  Nazareth."  Sister 
Byerly  did  indeed  distribute  in  deeds  of  kindness 
and  mercy  the  Lily  of  Nazareth.  In  Lincoln  we 
feel  that  her  gentle  spirit  there  shone  with  the 
mild  radiance  of  a  star  in  a  cloudless  night. 

Third,  our  chinch  in  Lincoln  appreciated  her 
deej)  interest  in  our  splendid  hand  of  young  people. 
When  I  came  as  pastor,  it  was  she  who  called  my 
attention  especially  to  their  work,  and  their  needs; 
told  of  their  earnestness,  and  their  mutual  love 
which  was  often  manifested  in  many  ways  by  our 
young  people.  For  they  came  at  times  and  sang 
songs  of  Zion  beneath  the  parsonage  windows.  By 
the  side  of  this  casket  so  heavily  draped  with  gar- 
lands, upon  which  are  falling  unavailing  tears, 
pocking  heavenward  on  the  billows  of  Divine  mercy, 
how    precious  are  the  echoes  of  the  songs  of  love 


and  Christian  fellowship  in  our  mutual  labor  of 
love  for  our  common  Master. 

It  is  natural,  then,  as  lias  been  suggested  by 
the  beautiful  and  eloquent  words  of  Dr.  McElroy, 
that  we  should  look  for  her  in  the  summer  land  of 
the  soul,  where  today  we  confidently  believe  she 
beholds  the  face  of  Him  who  loved  her,  sought  her, 
and  bought  her,  with  His  own  precious  blood. 
Strange,  mysterious  fate  is  hers,  that  tomorrow 
the  snows  of  winter  are  to  rest  on  her  grave,  the 
flowers  of  spring  to  bloom  above  her.  ;is  she  pillows 
her  head  in  the  dnst ;  vet,  that  is  soon  our  fate  as 
well. 

From  her  heavenly  home  she  waits  the  coming 
of  her  earthly  friends,  and  with  unabated  interest 
she  weaves  into  perfumed  garlands  Heaven's  choic- 
est flowers  with  which  to  welcome  and  crown  her 
beloved  and  her  own. 


ADDRESS  BY  REN'.  W.  A.  SMITH. 

The  announcement  reached  me  Saturday  thai 
our  dear  sister  had  gone  "the  way  of  all  the  earth" 
— had  been  transferred  from  the  membership  of  the 
church  militant  to  the  fellowship  of  "the  church 
triumphant  which  is  without  fault  before  the 
throne  of  (led."  1  was  surprised  and  shocked. 
There  was  a  suddenness  about  it  which  startled 
us  all.  A  single  step  removed  her  from  our  midsi 
and  from  our  sight,  to  remain  invisible  until  one 
by   one   we   shall   again   be   ushered    into   her   ]»res 

14 


ence.  Ye1  in  her  failing  health  we  all  had  warn- 
ing of  the  approach  of  the  grim  messenger.  This 
was  well,  for  our  sister  had  opportunity,  though 
she  hardly  needed  it,  to  prepare  for  the  greal 
change.  This  also  slightly  lessened  the  severity 
of  the  blow  which  the  coming  of  the  last  foe  has 
caused  to  descend  on  the  heads  and  hearts  of  loved 
ones  left  behind.  Yet  the  fact  remains — a  fact 
that  must  ever  produce  the  keenest  sorrow  and 
most  poignant  grief,  that  the  dear  sister  and  be- 
loved wife  is  dead.  '"Dead?  There  are  no  dead. 
Tis  true  many  of  our  friends  are  gone.  Singly 
they  came,  singly  departed.  When  their  work 
was  done  they  lay  down  to  sleep.  But  never  one 
hath  died.  Forms  may  change,  but  spirit  is  im- 
mortal." 

Grod  has  another  home,  and  other  nscs  for  His 
children  than  to  keep  them  any  longer  than  neces- 
sary out  of  Heaven.  I  suppose  the  dearest  being 
in  all  this  world  and  in  all  the  universe  to  the 
great  heart  of  God  is  His  own  ami  only  begotten 
Son  in  whom  He  expressed  Himself  as  well  pleased. 
Next  to  him  I  believe  He  loves  His  saints  who 
have  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in 
the  blood  of  thai  Lamb.  This  love  begins  here  and 
continues  forever.  So  we  read:  "Having  loved 
His  own  *  *  *  lie  loved  them  unto  the  end." 
And  again:  "Precious  in  the  sighl  of  the  Lord 
is  the  deatli  of  His  saints."  And  again:  "I  have 
loved  yon  with  an  everlasting  love."  Measured 
by  this  rule,  our  sister  must    have  been  one  of   His 

choice  disciples,   and   her  death   unspeakably   pre- 

15 


cious  to  Him,  for  she  was  certainly  a  Christian.  A 
glance  a1  her  life  will  answer  the  question:  "How 
did  she  die?"  Spurgeon  said:  "The  most  im- 
portant part  of  human  life  is  not  its  end.  but  its 
beginning.  Our  death  day  is  the  child  of  the  pasl  ; 
our  opening  years  are  the  sires  of  the  future." 
That  is  the  only  true  preparation  which  begins 
early  and  continues  late.  Our  sister  gave  her  hearl 
to  (Jed  in  her  girlhood  and  was  saved  with  God's 
great  salvation.  She  endured  to  the  end  as  see- 
ing Him  who  is  invisible,  and  was  constantly  saved 
with  a  greater  salvation.  At  the  last  she  pillowed 
her  head  on  the  promises  of  God,  and  is  now  saved 
at  God's  right  hand  with  the  greatest  salvation. 
"God's  finger  touched  her  and  she  slept.''  She  lias 
been  a  woman  of  position  and  influence.  She  was  for 
some  time  a  superintendent  in  the  national  organi- 
zation of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union. 
Whatever  her  position  she  was  faithful  and  true 
in  all  relationships.  She  "adorned  the  doctrine 
of  God  our  Savior  in  all  things."  The  hist  few 
years  of  her  life  were  given  as  the  wife  of  an 
itinerant  Methodist  preacher.  That  is  a  most  try- 
ing place  for  any  woman  to  fill:  but  she  filled  it 
with  credit  to  herself,  to  the  honor  of  her  husband 
and  the  church,  and  to  the  glory  of  God.  The 
crucial  test  was  perhaps  in  the  home.  Whitefield 
was  once  asked  if  a  certain  man  was  a  Christian. 
"How  do  I  know?"  said  he.  "I  never  lived  with, 
him."  Those  who  lived  with  our  sister  and  who 
were  most  intimate  with  her,  are  most  sure  of  her 
Christ-like  virtues  and  graces. 

16 


She  showed  "ou1  of  a  good  conversation  her 
works  with  meekness  of  wisdom) — the  wisdom  that 
is  from  above,  which  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable, 
gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and 
good  fruits,  without  partiality  and  without  hy- 
pocrisy." 

She  is  not  lost — only  passed  on  to  other  realms. 
She  has  simply,  like  Paul,  taken  her  departure. 
That  means  that  she  has  gone  to  another  and  bet- 
ter home,  for  wo  believe  she  was  ready  to  be  of- 
fered when  she  went  away.  Since  we  must  all  go 
hence,  it  comes  with  infinite  comfort  that  there  is 
a  hence  of  blessedness  to  which  we  can  go.  This 
is  the  home  which  Christ  has  gone  to  prepare  for 
as  and  to  which  lie  so  lovingly  invites  us.  Be- 
yond the  sowing  is  the  reaping;  beyond  the  labor 
is  the  rest;  beyond  the  battle  is  the  victory;  be- 
yond the  grave  is  the  inheritance.  Somewhere 
(rod  i*  building  His  eternal  kingdom.  Into  sonic 
haven  of  rest  the  pure  in  heart  of  all  ages  are 
gathered.  There  the  sweet  voices,  lost  to  the 
earth,  sinj;  the  new  song.  There  the  heart  shall 
be  satisfied  with  love,  and  the  mind  clothed  in  the 
garments  of  truth.  There  "<b>d  shall  wipe  all  tears 
from  all  eyes;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death. 
neither  sorrow  nor  crying;  neither  shall  there  be 
any  more  pain,  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away."* 

Then  do  not  unduly  grieve  after  her.  Think 
of  her  as  resting  in  the  home  of  God.  The  life- 
less form  before  yon  is  not  your  loved  one.  She 
is    at    home    with    her    Savior.       "Blessed    are   the 

17 


dead" — not  shall  be — "who  die  in  the  Lord."  They 
enter  at  once  into  some  state  of  blessedness.  Yet 
she  may  be  here  in  spirit,  today,  shedding  a  bless- 
ed influence  over  you.  She  is  living  the  larger 
life,  and  dwelling  in  the  ampler  abodes  of  the 
spirit  land.  We  say,  "She  is  dead."  Angels  may 
say.  "She  is  just  born." 

It  is  hard  to  bear,  I  know,  but  it  will  not  be  so 
hard  if  you  will  just  let  the  dear  Lord  bear  it  for 
you.  Our  dear  brother  is  especially  afflicted  in 
the  loss  of  a  companion;  but  the  same  gospel,  the 
same  Savior,  and  the  same  all-sufficient  grace 
which  were  hers,  and  which  he  has  for  years 
preached  to  others,  can  and  will  keep  him.  "Cast 
thy  burden  on  the  Lord,  and  He  shall  sustain 
thee." 

God  can  and  will,  if  you  only  permit  Him.  come 
in  and  till  up  the  places  made  vacant  in  your 
hearts  and  homes  by  this  great  bereavement. 

"Ground  yourselves  on  a  strong-  immortal  hope. 
Which  bears  your  mournful  spirits  up, 

Beneath   your   mountain   load. 
Redeemed  from   death   and   grief  and  pain. 
You   soon   shall   find  your  own   again. 

Within   the  home  of  God." 

The  remains  were  deposited  temporarily  in  the 
receiving  vault  at  Oak  Ridge,  and  subsequently 
cremated,  in  accordance  with  the  wish  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  sent  to  Riverside,  California,  to  be 
interred  in  the  familv  lot  in  Olivewood  cemetery. 


IN 


ilUt  iUtmmv 


Alice  L.  Suddutli,  daughter  of  I>r.  -lames  M. 
and  Amanda  Ashmare  Suddutli,  was  born  near 
Athens,  Illinois,  June  18,  1855.  When  about  eleven 
years  of  age  her  parents  removed  to  Normal,  Illi- 
nois, for  the  purpose  of  educating  their  children. 
Here,  and  at  Bloomington,  the  family  lived  for 
twenty  years.  She  received  her  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  Normal  University,  afterward 
taking  a  coarse  at  Mills  College,  Oakland,  Califor- 
nia. Returning  to  her  native  state,  she  pursued 
an  extensive  course  in  instrumental  music  at 
the  Illinois  ^Yesleyan  University,  and  was  an 
accomplished  musician.  She  espoused  with  enthu- 
siasm the  work  of  the  Chautauqua  Literary  and 
Scientific  Circle,  and  completed  a  four  years'  course 
in  that  people's  university,  graduating  in  the  class 
of  1886,  (ui  which  occasion  she  was  present  and 
received  her  diploma  from  the  hands  of  the  founder 
of  this  great  institution,  Dr.,  now  Bishop,  John  H. 
Vincent.  She  was  from  her  childhood  an  earnest 
Christian,  and  like  thousands  of  other  Christian 
young  women,  she  was  captivated  by  the  genius  and 
enthusiasm  of  Frances  E.  Willard,  that  Joan  of 
Arc  of  the  temperance  reform,  and  laid  all  her 
gifts  on  that  altar. 

In  1887  she  removed  with  her  parents  to  Colton, 
in  Southern  California,  and  spent  eleven  happy 
and  useful  years  in  that  land  of  flowers. 


For  several  years  she  was  National  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Flower  Mission  Department  of  the 
XV.  C.  T.  V.,  and  under  her  administration  it  con- 
tinued, as  it  had  ever  been,  a  great  evangelistic 
agency.  Unnumbered  gifts  of  flowers,  with  appro- 
priate Scripture  texts  attached,  were  distributed  in 
prisons,  hospitals,  and  sick  chambers,  and  only  the 
great  day  will  reveal  how  many  were  led  to  Christ 
through  these  beautiful  ministrations. 

The  great  number  of  consumptives  who  sought 
that  genial  clime,  often  only  to  die  far  from  home 
and  among  strangers,  greatly  aroused  her  sym- 
pathies, and.  like  Mary  Reed  among  the  lepers, 
she  went  about  with  her  fruits  and  flowers,  and 
cheering  words,  among  the  victims  of  the  white 
death,  until  her  friends  remonstrated,  lest  she  con- 
tract the  dread  disease  herself.  But  it  had  be- 
come a  passion  with  her.  and.  as  long  as  she  re- 
mained in  California,  she  continued  these  unsel- 
fish ministrations,  and  was  wont  to  say  that  some 
of  the  sweetest  blessings  of  her  life  had  been 
received  in  hospitals  and  sick  chambers,  where  the 
Master  seemed  to  say.  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
it  unto  these,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  It  is  a 
singular  providence  of  God,  that  she  herself  should 
die  far  from  home,  and  that  strangers  should  min- 
ister to  her.  and  cover  her  bier  with  flowers. 

Her  father  and  mother  both  died  in  California. 
and  the  beautiful  home  among  the  orange  trees  and 
flowers  was  broken  up. 

Soon  after  her  mother's  death,  in  1898,  she  re 

20 


turned  to  Illinois,  greatly  chastened,  but  more 
beautiful  in  spirit,  than  ever  before. 

On  the  1.5-th  day  of  Mar,  1900,  she  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Rev.  A.  C.  Byerly  in  Springfield. 

With  such  intelligence,  consecration,  and  tact, 
as  she  possessed,  she  could  not  fail  to  be  a  help- 
meet in  the  ministry.  She  presided  with  grace  and 
dignity  in  the  parsonage,  and  made  a  happy  home 
for  her  husband  and  his  children. 

In  the  church  at  Lincoln,  where  her  husband 
was  pastor  at  the  time  of  her  marriage,  she  won 
her  way  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  was 
greatly  beloved  in  the  church  and  out  of  it.  To 
die  young  people  of  the  Epworth  League  she  was 
an  inspiration.  Under  her  direction,  the  methods 
of  the  Flower  Mission  were  applied  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Mercy  and  Help,  with  the  most  blessed 
spiritual  results. 

She  became  an  enthusiast  in  the  work  of  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  "The  Gos- 
pel in  All  Lands."  -World-Wide  Missions."'  "The 
Woman's  Missionary  Friend,"  and  the  "'Missionary 
Review  of  the  World"  came  regularly  to  her  desk, 
and  were  read  and  studied  daily. 

She  knew  what  was  going  on  in  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth,  and  her  prayers  and  sympathies 
went  out  to  all  who  toil  in  heathen  lands.  She 
watched  with  absorbing  interest  the  development 
of  our  work  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  often 
said  if  she  were  a  young  woman,  she  would  re- 
spond to  the  Macedonian  calls  of  Dr.  Homer  Stunt/ 
for  help  in  that  field  so  white  for  the  harvest. 


About  a  year  ago,  she  had  a  very  severe  sick- 
ness, from  which  she  never  fully  recovered. 
A  long  siege  of  The  grip  in  the  early  part  of  the 
winter  left  her  much  debilitated,  and  it  seemed 
impossible  for  her  to  regain  her  strength  in  this 
rigorous  climate,  and  she  longed  for  sunny  Cali- 
fornia. But,  as  her  husband  was  going  out  in 
May  to  the  General  Conference,  she  preferred  to 
wait  and  go  with  him.  So  it  was  decided  that  sin- 
should  go  down  to  Citronelle,  Alabama,  and  stay  a 
few  weeks. 

On  the  6th  day  of  February  she  arrived  there, 
and  for  ten  days  revelled  in  the  balmy  air  and  glori- 
ous sunshine,  and  seemed  to  be  rapidly  recuper- 
ating. 

She  wrote  the  most  cheerful  letters  home  tell- 
ing of  her  progress,  hut  in  the  midst  of  so  much 
promise  she  was  suddenly  prostrated  with  a  severe 
bilious  attack  on  Feb.  16.  Various  complications 
developed,  and  she  grew  alarmingly  worse,  till  Fri- 
day morning,  Feb.  1(.».  when  she  peacefully  passed 
away,  being  at  the  time  of  her  death  in  the  middle 
of  her  forty-ninth  year. 

So  sudden  was  the  culmination  of  her  illness. 
that  her  husband,  who  had  started  on  the  first  noti- 
fication of  danger,  did  not  reach  her  bedside  until 
many  hours  after  her  demise. 

Though  she  died  among  strangers,  she  had 
every  possible  attention,  a  trained  nurse  who  never 
left  her  for  a  moment,  and  the  best  medical  skill 
that  could  be  obtained. 

In  her  brief  stav  in  Citronelle,  as  was  her  wav. 


she  made  some  lovely  friends,  who  were  untiring 
in  their  kindly  ministrations.  To  them  she  talked 
beautifully  of  her  religious  life,  and  of  her  immortal 
hope  in  Jesus  Christ.  She  know  the  end  had  come, 
and  was  ready  and  radiant.  She  was  conscious  to 
the  last,  and  smiled  gratefully  when  told  That  her 
husband  was  coming. 

The  nurse  said  she  was  the  gentlest,  most  sub 
missive  patient  she  had  ever  taken  care  of  in  her 
life.  She  did  not  die.  "She  fell  asleep  in  .Jesus." 
She  was  converted  when  a  child,  and  united  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  to  which  her  parents  be- 
longed, and  remained  in  that  communion  a  faith 
fnl  witness  for  Christ,  until  her  marriage,  when 
she  transferred  her  membership  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  is  now  gone  to  the  church 
"triumphant,  which  is  without  fault  before  the 
throne."  Those  who  sutler  irreparable  loss  are 
1km-  husband  and  his  children,  Gertrude,  Laurence 
and  Julia,  whom  she  loved  as  her  own.  a  brother, 
Dr.  William  X.  Sudduth,  of  Billings,  Montana,  and 
a  sister.  Miss  Margaret  A.  Sudduth.  of  Los  An- 
geles, Cal.,  well  known  as  managing  editor  of  the 
Union  Signal  at  Chicago  for  many  years,  and  hosts 
of  friends  in  this  and  other  states  who  loved  her 
for  her  works'  sake. 


Not   now,  but  in   the  coming-  years, 
It   may  be  in  the  better  land. 

We'll  catch  the  meaning  of  our  tears 
Anil,  there,   sometime  we'll  understand. 


23 


We'll  catch  the  broken  threads  again, 
And  finish   what   we   he:  e  began. 

Heaven   will   the  mysteries  explain 

And   there.  Ah   there,   we'll  understand. 

We'll  know  why  clouds  instead  of  sun 
Were  over  many   a   cherished   plan: 

Why  song  has  ceased  when  scarce  begun. 
'Tis  there,   sometime,   we'll   understand. 

Why   what  we  longed  for  most   of  all 
Eludes  so  oft  our  eager  hand: 

Why  hopes  are  crushed  and  castles  fall, 
Up  there,   some'ime  we'll   understand. 

God  knows  the  way.   He  holds  the  key. 

He  guides   us  with  unerring   hand. 
Sometime  with  tearless  eyes  we'll   see, 

Yes.   there,  up  there,   we'll  understand. 


CouiuUeucr^ 


From  a  Great  .Many  Sympathetic   Messages  and  Resolutions,  a  Few 
are  appended  as  Characteristic  of  all. 


From  ri\c  Springfield  District  Woman's  roreign  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

Dear  1 5rot  her  Byerly: 

While  we  know  that  words  seem  empty  in  such 
a  sorrow  as  yours,  we  fool  that  we  must  thus  ex- 
press to  you  the  heart  felt  sympathy  of  the  Wo- 
man's Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  District. 

We  wish  you  to  know  that  we  shall  always  hold 
in  loving  remembrance  the  many  times  Mrs.  Byerly 
and  yourself  have  responded  to  our  calls  for  help 
and  counsel.  All  through  the  coming  years,  as  we 
send  "the  gospel  into  all  lands."  we  will  remember 
that  it  is  through  the  efforts  of  our  Presiding  Elder 
and  his  associate  ministers,  that  we  have  a  base  of 
supplies  both  temporal  and  spiritual  to  draw  upon 
for  our  work. 

Wishing  always  to  he  remembered  as  sorrow- 
ing with  you  in  your  sorrow,  for  in  Mrs.  Byerly  we 
had  a  kind,  loving  friend,  upon  whom  we  depended 
lor  counsel  and  guidance, 
Very  sincerely, 

MRS.  S.   F.   BIDOE.WAY, 

District    President. 
MISS  E.  L.  SINCLAIR, 

District   Secretary. 


J  5 


from  the  Woman's  foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
rirst  Church,  Springfield. 

Dear  Brother  Byerly: 

The  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
First  Ohureh  desires  to  express  to  von  our  sym- 
pathy in  the  great  loss  that  has  come  to  yon  in  the 
death  of  your  estimable  wife. 

We  had  not  the  privilege  of  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  Mrs.  Byerly,  but  we  learned  from 
others  who  had  that  privilege  of  her  earnest  work 
in  behalf  of  the  women  of  Christless  lands,  as  well 
as  her  work  for  the  Master  in  many  other  lines. 
We  know  how  empty  words  are  in  such  an  hour, 
and  how  meaningless  to  a  heart  in  sore  bereave- 
ment, yet  cur  lives  would  be  almost  unbearable, 
without  the  kind  and  loving  sympathy  of  Christian 
friends,  when  the  death  angel  comes  into  our 
homes. 

We  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  the  dear  Savior  who 
lias  given  yon  grace  to  bear  so  bravely  much  of 
sorrow,  will  still  be  your  refuge  and  sustaining  com- 
forter in  this  great  bereavement. 

In  behalf  of  the  society. 

MRS.  ALEX.  PRINGLE. 

rrom  \\\c  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of 
Lincoln,  III. 

Dear  Brother  Byerly: 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary   Society   yesterday,    we    were    appointed    a 

26 


(  ommil  tee  to  convey  to  you  our  profound  sympal  hy 
in  your  sad  bereavement. 

At  the  close  of  the  program  a  brief  memorial 
was  held  for  Sister  Byerly.  Our  pastor,  Brother 
Stover,  told  us  the  particulars  of  her  last  illness 
and  of  the  funeral  service.  Over  fifty  ladies  were 
present,  and  their  tearful  eves  bore  silent  testi- 
mony to  the  dee]>  affection  cherished  for  Sister 
Byerly,  and  appreciation  of  her  work  while  she 
was  with  us.  The  memory  of  Sister  Byerly  will 
remain  with  our  society  as  that  of  a  noble  Chris- 
lian  woman,  who  ardently  loved  the  missionary 
cause,  as  well  as  every  oilier  good  work,  and  the 
fragrant  influence  of  her  life  will  abide  as  a  preci- 
ous memory  with  us.  We  realize  that  a  great  loss 
has  come  to  you  and  your  home,  and  in  behalf  of 
the  Society  we  extend  to  you  in  this  sad  hour  our 
tenderest  sympathies,  and  pray  that  our  Heavenly 
Father  will  sustain  and  comfort  you. 
Numbers  6:24,  25,  26. 

MRS.  W.  P.  WAKEMAX. 

MISS  EVA  KETOHAM. 

Epworth  League  Resolutions,  Lincoln,  in. 

Inasmuch  as  it  hath  pleased  our  Heavenly 
Father  to  remove  from  her  earthly  home  our  be- 
loved sister,  Alice  Suddut  h-Byerly ;  and 

Whereas,  We  tenderly  condole  with  the  fam- 
ily of  our  deceased  sister  in  their  hour  of  trial,  we 
devoutly   commend   them    to    the    keeping   of    Him 

27 


who  tenderly  watches  over  the  loved  ones,  who  are 
left  to  mourn;  and 

Whereas,  we  can  but  bow  in  grief  and  submis- 
sion to  His  will,  who  doeth  all  things  well,  com- 
forted by  the  hope  of  a  reunion  in  the  better 
world,  where  there  are  no  pairings,  and  the  knowl- 
edge that  our  beloved  sister  is  sweetly  resting  in 
Jesus;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Wilkin  Chapter,  Ep- 
worth  League,  do  hereby  extend  our  deepest  and 
truest  sympathy  to  the  bereaved  family;  and  be  it 
further 

Resolved.  That  we  present  a  copy  of  these 
resolutions  to  the  family  and  cause  the  same  to  be 
spread  on  our  minutes. 

Wilkin  Chapter,   Epworth  League. 

IMOGEN   GADWALLADER,  Secretary. 

from  the  Springfield  Woman's  Christian  Temper 
chut  Union. 

Rev.  A.  C.  Byerly  and  Family: 

Dear  Friends:  The  Springfield  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union  hereby  tenders  to  you 
sinceresl  sympathy  on  "the  going  away"  of  one 
who  was  so  dear  to  you.  I  think  I  can  say  that 
all  who  knew  Alice  Sudduth  liyerly  loved  her.  As 
you  know,  she  was  formerly  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Flower  Mission  Department  of  the  National 
W.  C.  T.  IL,  appointed  by  Miss  Willard  herself, 
which  action  was  confirmed  by  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  afterward  by  the  National  Convention. 

2S 


It  goes  without  saying,  thai  Mrs.  Byerly,  then  Miss 
Sudduth,  made  an  ideal  officer.  The  National 
motto  for  the  Flower  Mission  is  "Something  while, 
something  bright,  and  something  sweet."  We 
have  endeavored  to  carry  out  tliis  idea  in  the  slighl 
floral  token  of  our  love  for  the  departed  (promoted) 
which  is  offered  today. 

In  behalf  of  the  Central  W.  C.  T.  U., 

MBS.  GEORGE  CLINTON  SMITH. 

From  me  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  Lincoln,  III. 

Dear  Brother  Byerly: 

The  members  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  this 
city,  desire  me,  as  Secretary,  to  assure  you  of  their 
deepest  sympathy  in  your  irreparable  loss.  We 
feel  that  we  have  lost  one  whose  presence  in  mem- 
ory we  shall  ever  be  proud  to  recall,  as  a  member 
of  our  society.  She  was  an  honor,  and  an  exam- 
ple to  us  of  pure  friendship,  noble  generosity  and 
unsullied  life. 

It  seems  as  if  an  angel  noiselessly  swung  open 
the  gate,  and  she  entered  the  "City  Beautiful." 
We  know  the  One  whom  you  have  served  so  long 
and  faithfully  will  sustain  you. 

In  behalf  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps. 

CLARA  WTI/DMAN,  Secretarv. 


HUc  interment  in  CnlUVrniru 

i  From  the  Riverside  Daily  Press.) 

On  Friday  afternoon,  March  11,  occurred  from 
the  residence  of  Lyman  Evans  on  Fourteenth  street 
the  funeral  of  a  woman  worthy  of  more  than  a 
passing  notice.  Mrs.  Alice  Sudduth-Byerly,  wife 
of  Presiding  Elder  Rev.  A.  C.  Byerly,  of  Spring- 
field, Illinois,  recently  passed  away,  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  her  wish,  the  remains  were  cremated 
and  brought  to  Riverside  to  be  laid  to  rest  beside 
her  father  and  mother,  Dr.  and  .Airs.  James  M. 
Sudduth.  in  Olivewood  cemetery. 

Dr.  Sudduth  and  family  were  prominent  resi 
dents  of  Bloomington,  111.,  for  many  years,  but  for 
several  years  before  his  death,  in  ls'!)5.  they  had 
lived  in  Colton,  <  'al. 

In  1898,  on  the  death  of  Mrs.  Sudduth,  the 
daughters,  Miss  Alice  and  Miss  Margaret,  returned 
to  Illinois,  where  Miss  Alice  soon  afterwards  be- 
came the  wife  of  Rev.  A.  O.  Byerly,  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church.  Mrs.  Byerly  had  been  for 
three  years  before  her  marriage  one  of  the  National 
Superintendents  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temper- 
ance Union,  holding  the  responsible  position  of 
the  head  of  the  Flower  Mission  Department. 
Both  her  work  and  her  reputation  were  national, 
and  she  and  her  sister.  Miss  Margaret  Snddnth. 
(who  for  many  years  of  its  palmiest  days  was  man- 
aging editor  of  the  Union  Signal),  were  among  the 
who    were    gathered    about    Miss 

30 


Frances  Willard  in  her  later  years.  Delegations 
of  ladies  representing  the  Unions  of  San  Bernardino, 
Golton  and  Riverside, attended  the  funeral  services, 
and  in  addition  to  the  appropriate  floral  designs 
offered  by  the  societies,  the  tributes  of  flowers 
were  many  and  beautiful. 

The  services  were  in  charge  of  Rev.  Mr.  Chan- 
dler, of  San  Bernardino,  and  Rev.  B.  S.  Haywood. 
of  Riverside,  and  were  conducted  in  the  cemetery. 
The  words  of  the  ministers  were  eloquent  of  the 
good  deeds  of  the  strong,  loving  woman,  and  as  the 
friends  departed,  the  clouds  that  had  overshadowed 
the  afternoon  broke  away  and  the  evening  sun- 
shine fell  as  a  benediction  on  the  scene. 

Miss  Roslyn  Sargent,  of  San  Bernardino, 
brought  her  garland  of  beautiful  son*;-  and  rendered 
"Asleep  in  Jesus"  and  "Abide  With  Me,"  in  sweet- 
est strains.  Miss  Margaret  Sudduth  and  her 
cousin,  Miss  Laura  C.  Sudduth,  of  Normal,  Illinois, 
who  are  passing  the  winter  in  Los  Angeles,  were 
the  only  relatives  present.  Rev.  Mr.  Byerly  was  no1 
able  to  leave  his  charge  for  the  long  journey  at 
this  time,  but  will  visit  Riverside  in  May,  when  he 
attends  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  at  Los  Angeles  as  a  delegate  from 
his  Conference. 


31 


from  First  M.  E.  Church  (Riverside  i  Bulletin. 

Friday  afternoon,  March  11.  the  final  service 
over  the  remains  of  Mrs.  Alice  Suddnth-Byerly  was 
held.  She  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  A.  O.  Byerly,  I>.  D., 
Presiding  Elder  of  The  Springfield,  111.,  District. 
dving  in  Alabama  last  month,  whither 


he  had  gone 
:  known  in  River- 
ice  spirit,   the 
,y  homes.      As 
-.  to  her  mission 
k.      Long  has  she 
Christ  and  in  His  service  she  has  spenl 

peak   His   peace   to   these 


in  search  of  health.      She  was 
side  in  former  days  and   wa. 
fragrance  of  whose  life  encircles 
a   minister's  wife  she  measured 
and  faithfully  performed  her  wo 
known  th< 
her  life. 

May  the   Comforter 
nianv  stricken  hearts. 


52 


• 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

B.S9438A  C001 

ALICE  SUDDUTH-BYERLY.  SPRINGFIELD 


3  0112  025409373 


